@ BlackmoreofBowling: How the fuck are you even considering the notion that TSO isn't a band? A long time before it became the absolute cash-grabbing phenomenon that it is today, TSO (aka Savatage, as it originally was, with varying singers) produced albums that, in addition to rearranging traditional Christmas songs, featured a lot of original songs (GREAT songs, I might add), wrapped in a conceptual package. The thought of not considering them an actual band seems like a preposterous idea to me. Maybe it's because I actually care about their own songs, as if it were any other band, Christmas-related or not.

@ Dimebag Rusty: No one cares that it's not Savatage related. At least I don't, I care that it's just random classic rock fodder that has nothing to do with what TSO is about. I actually would prefer TSO did less Savatage material, which is a subject I've not even touched on (though the absolutely horrendous rendition of Believe is a start). I need not even mention how stupid it is to bring Testament/Metal Church (or fuck, given the other former/current projects of touring TSO members: Megadeth, Yngwie Malmsteen, Journey, and Artension) into this discussion, because even if I were suggesting they do more Savatage material (which I'm not), it's not the same thing because the member's participation in each of those bands was minimal, or at least just one member, as opposed to the fact that the first 3 entire TSO albums were the exact lineup of Savatage, verbatim, aside from the additional varying vocalists.
Also, you mention families going to see them not being into metal/Savatage. I don't know about you, but my Grandmother doesn't know who Joe Walsh is either, nor would she, or pretty much any other member of my family care about seeing him perform two songs. I'm not personally outing him, but I mean to be honest at least most of the rest of the time TSO does something like this, it's at least for a real star with real hits. Not condoning it in general, but I guarantee you that the majority of the audience at this show were either indifferent or negative to the guest spot and deviation from general theme.

Yes, they are. But as has been established here, neither of these two songs were actually Eagles songs. I'm sure if they would've played Hotel California or something, the 40+ set would've loved it, but it's not quite the same thing. Casual music fans don't care if someone played with someone, they just want to hear the couple of radio hits they know.

I enjoy these kind of debates and think we need more of them personally.

Being one of the "old people" what Joe Walsh really means to me is James Gang. He is a musical genius for writing some of those riffs alone. I remember being 8 years old and seeing the James Gang Rides Again album with just those words on the cover and thinking WTF is this stupid shit? I threw the album on and when Funk #49 kicked in I was floored. I threw on the other album my brother had Thirds and the 1st song was Walk Away which was another incredible riff but catchier. To me James Gang was as influential on music as Steppenwolf, Deep Purple, Mountain and other bands from that era but rarely ever get credit for it.

That being said I bet if you polled the crowd before the show and asked them if they would rather have Joe Walsh come out and play Rocky Mountain Way and Life's Been Good or have the band play Gutter Ballet and Hall of the Mountain King it would have been at least 80% Joe Walsh.

I like Savatage but if you grew up in the 80's and had to be subjected to that hideous video for HotMK every single week on Headbangers Ball you would feel my pain. Vote for Joe! hahaha

I enjoy these kind of debates and think we need more of them personally.

Being one of the "old people" what Joe Walsh really means to me is James Gang. He is a musical genius for writing some of those riffs alone. I remember being 8 years old and seeing the James Gang Rides Again album with just those words on the cover and thinking WTF is this stupid shit? I threw the album on and when Funk #49 kicked in I was floored. I threw on the other album my brother had Thirds and the 1st song was Walk Away which was another incredible riff but catchier. To me James Gang was as influential on music as Steppenwolf, Deep Purple, Mountain and other bands from that era but rarely ever get credit for it.

That being said I bet if you polled the crowd before the show and asked them if they would rather have Joe Walsh come out and play Rocky Mountain Way and Life's Been Good or have the band play Gutter Ballet and Hall of the Mountain King it would have been at least 80% Joe Walsh.

I like Savatage but if you grew up in the 80's and had to be subjected to that hideous video for HotMK every single week on Headbangers Ball you would feel my pain. Vote for Joe! hahaha

I completely see your point, but as I said, to me, this isn't about Savatage material vs. Joe Walsh, but moreso I'm just kinda upset that instead of doing more of their own material (and great material at that) that they've been ignoring every year by doing the same show, they bring out these token classic rock artists, and it just doesn't fit with what the rest of the show is about.

I want to say "how the mighty have fallen" but I don't know that there was ever anything noble about Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The atrocious Believe cover and the completely asinine guest appearance, in Tampa where they could have gotten any member from Savatage not to mention about twenty significant death metal bands no less, makes me contented not to ever spend another penny on their sorry asses.

Back to the SET list, for those who care, it was the same exact show on the same date in Arizona minus Joe Walsh and those two cover tunes. Plus, instead of Believe, we got Jeff Scott Soto singing Dreams We Conceive. For my money, I wish TSO would use their vocalists more in the second half of the show; too many instrumentals for my taste.

Back to the SET list, for those who care, it was the same exact show on the same date in Arizona minus Joe Walsh and those two cover tunes. Plus, instead of Believe, we got Jeff Scott Soto singing Dreams We Conceive. For my money, I wish TSO would use their vocalists more in the second half of the show; too many instrumentals for my taste.

Yeah, I saw that they were doing Dreams with JSS, which frankly is better than them (vocally) slaughtering Believe. It's one of the better songs on Night Castle.

And you are dead on about the second half of the show. It bothers me that they hire 8-10 vocalists to come on tour with them and barely use any of them. Again, especially since they have a lot of great songs which they could use them for. Case in point here is Rob Evan, who is now touring with East TSO singing An Angel Came Down/Returned. Rob sang What Child Is This, Back to a Reason, What is Christmas, Epiphany, and There Was a life on record, all of which are some of TSO's best songs. Yet Rob does nothing else in the show because they don't play any of these songs. It's just a waste.

It really is sad how they waste their vocalists. People leave saying that it was a good show, but the second half is what prevents people from leaving saying that it was the best show they've ever seen.